Raghupati: Politics of Religion or Religion towards Politics?

 Anjan Dutt's take on Tagore's celebrated work "Bishorjon" aptly describes the position of religious faith in today's socio-political affairs, exploring several dimensions of the multi-faceted philosophies of Faith and their manipulative powers. Religion is one of the primary pillars of society and humanity, at large. It invokes virtue and benevolence amongst all. But at the same time, it can be a deadly weapon to be used to feed the lust for power, leading to violence and disharmony. The play depicts how the titular character Raghupati balances the dynamics of the two aforesaid shades, within the mind of Joysingha.

The protagonist of the play is Joysingha's dilemma. This is the confusion he faces regarding which path to follow, whether the path of peace and love, or the path of violence and bloodshed. He was, since long, only aware of the former philosophy, something that Raghupati had taught him as a part of paternal love. He fails to recognize the Raghupati 2.0, who advocates for religious sacrifices, bloodshed and violence. The lights change from blue to crimson at the very moment Raghupati barges into the temple to find Joysingha making love to Aparna. The latter's love may have been genuine, but Joysingha's love for Aparna is simply out of his helplessness to suppress his inner rebellion against the amoral propaganda of Raghupati, which he despises but can't disobey, out of gratitude. The play goes on creating several moments of crisis and despair among the audience through the character of Joysingha, and the climax, though precedented, does make one's heart skip a beat and create a voidness in one's soul.

With Mr Dutt at the helm, very little can go wrong. He brings life and aura to Raghupati, letting the audience fall prey to his charisma. The scene where Raghupati turns around the Idol he worshipped–only to show a throne–his adobe—and justifies that he is the one who propagated Divinity and concepts of Heaven and Hell—that man would be punished for evil deeds and that stops man from committing crimes every now and then—simply couldn't have been better portrayed. Raghupati reveals that he doesn't wish to become the "King", he intends to Control the "king" gnd become the Godman. To him the Goddess is simply an idol, it is he who directs what she seems to desire; his way of politics. He can blind the masses with his propaganda and Suprobhat once again justifies why he is Anjan Dutt's go-to person. He as Joysingha connects with the audience with his helplessness, his desperation, his life... the climax makes us realize that it is because of the sacrifices of the Joysinghas that the one can still dream of "Healing the world". Joysingha sheds his own "blood" as a protest against his Godman's immoral will, showing his character and strong-will to resist wrongful propaganda, leaving a shocked and dumbstruck Raghupati lamenting down on his knees.

Neel Dutt's music weaves the scenes together beautifully. The songs are very well penned down and are apt with the crisis of the play. The song "গণতন্ত্র" is a reminiscent of Dutt's 2014 album "Unoshaat". "আবার বসন্ত" is a must be mentioned for it's emotional depth. Lighting is an integral part of any theatre, and the constant shift from Red to Blue to again Red, is symbolic of Joysingha's swing of mood. Ushnak Basu has done a pretty good job. Costume designing and Stage arrangements have been very much apt and Chanda Dutt deserves appreciation for her fine detailing. Last, but not the least, to be mentioned is Iman Chakraborty's brilliant rendition of Tagore, absolutely in sync with the mood built up the entire two hour play.

Raghupati, thereby, is a very relevant work that is reflective of what is happening in today's world, which is full of misinformation, misinterpretation, fascism and anarchy. Where money rules over all and democracy is simply used as a facade to hide evil designs. Where politicians and Godmans use religion to mislead people by divisive politics and spread hatred. Religion becomes a tool in the hands of capitalists to fuel their demands and manipulate commoners. As Raghupati says, "ধনতান্ত্রিক সমাজে গণতন্ত্রের কোনো স্থান নেই।" Thus, Raghupati has a lot to offer amidst present crisis, and definitely a very socially pertinent production.

"শ্মশান হয়ে যায় ফুলের বাগান,

কবর হয়ে যায় ফুলের গাছ,

ফুলে ফুলে ঢেকে গেছে কত কত লাশ—

আবার বসন্ত, এসেছে আজ।"

~ Soumitri @theaccidentalwriter